What has changed in 40 years?

January 26 marked the 40th anniversary of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy in Canberra. The establishment of the Tent Embassy in 1972 represented an historic watershed in the Indigenous struggle for self-determination.

The mainstream account of history teaches that it was the 1967 referendum that finally afforded rights and equality to Aboriginal people. This, however, was not the experience of Aboriginal people.

Aboriginal poet and activist Oodgeroo Noonuccal (formerly Kath Walker) said after the referendum: “Looking back, the only major improvement has been the 93% ‘Yes’ vote of the referendum of May 1967; but this improvement did not benefit the black Australians though it eased the guilty conscience of white Australians in this country and overseas.”

By Mel Gregson, Socialist Party

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Ian Angus and Simon Butler’s book ‘Too Many People?’ provides a great service to the workers’ movement by systematically demolishing a key argument of the Right.

Since the 18th century, capitalism and its supporters have tried to ‘blame the victim’ for the horrors of their system. Arguing that over-population is a key contributor to scarcity has been the key point made by these types - from Malthus in Marx’s day to sections of the environmental movement and the political Right today. (Malthus falsely argued that population grows exponentially while food supply only grows arithmetically).

By Stephen Jolly

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Masses in Cairo and other cities demand end to military rule

Yesterday, 25th January, marked the first anniversary of start of the revolutionary movement of the masses in Egypt, which eventually led to the fall of the dictator Hosni Mubarak. Yesterday, millions of Egyptians again took to the streets, celebrating the achievements of the revolution and remembering the martyrs killed by the police and army. Many protesters also demanded the removal of General Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, the leader of the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), as well as calling for genuine democratic rights, real social change and to end poverty and joblessness.

An Eyewitness Report

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Total shut down across the country as the working class shows it owns society

On Monday 9 January, 2012, tens of thousands of Nigerians marched through the streets of Lagos in a demonstration against the removal of the fuel subsidy by the Nigerian government. As a result of this policy, the petroleum price has shot up from N65 to between N140 to N200. The cost of food, transport and basic services have soared by several percentage points as the market reacts.

Meanwhile salaries remain fixated despite soaring inflation while the N18, 000 (around US$120) national minimum wage remains unpaid in a lot of states. It is against this background that the huge burst of anger of the mass of working and poor people so early in the New Year can be understood.

By Democratic Socialist Movement (CWI in Nigeria) reporters

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SP Newsletter No.384

Last night Yarra Council, in inner-city Melbourne, held a special ‘ceremonial’ Council meeting to elect the 2012 Mayor. The meeting’s proceedings put a spotlight on the true nature of the Greens. Despite having more Councillors than any other party on Council, the Greens refused to accept the Mayoral position and instead voted for the most right-wing ALP Councillor, Geoff Barbour.

The current make up of the Council is 3 Greens, 2 Socialists, 2 ALP and 2 right-wing Independents. Alison Clarke from the Greens had the Mayor’s position this year and the Socialist Party encouraged them on several occasions to retake the position in 2012. The combined votes of the Greens and Socialist Party could have easily made this happen.

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Below we publish a perspectives document written by the CWI’s International Secretariat. This document will be discussed, and voted on, at the International Executive Committee of the Committee for a Workers’ International (CWI) which will be held in Belgium next month.

A world in turmoil

1. Since the last World Congress, just over a year ago, the world has been in almost continuous turmoil. We have witnessed the Middle Eastern and North African revolutions, which still endure, as the bloody conflicts in Cairo and elsewhere in late November indicate. This in turn has been followed by the elections in Egypt. In the first stages of the Egyptian parliamentary elections the Islamic parties appear to have won two thirds of the vote. The Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice party got 36.6%, according to preliminary results. However, the ultra-conservative fundamentalist al-Nour party, with its doctrine of Salafism gained nearly one quarter of the vote in areas which encompass nine of Egypt’s 27 provinces, including the main urban centres of Cairo and Alexandria. On the other hand, parties supporting the regime of Mubarak received only 3% of the vote! By the time of the IEC, the elections will have been completed and we will have a better picture of what this signifies.

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In recent months there has been a steadily rising chorus in Australia of calls for protectionism, tariffs, and for people to ‘Buy Australian’. In this article Stephen Jolly looks at what is behind these calls and the socialist view on such measures.

The mining boom has been a profits bonanza for some companies but it has had a sometimes negative impact on the 90% of the Australian economy that is non-mining. The commodities boom has bumped up the Australian dollar, making manufacturing exports more expensive. Similarly, the education and tourism industries have suffered.

Around 70% of all investment in Australia is being captured by the mining sector. To limit the inflationary impacts of the mining boom, the Reserve Bank has in the past raised interest rates which have raised the cost of borrowing for manufacturing.

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SP Newsletter No.382

The picket lines and strike rallies throughout the UK on 30th November were a magnificent and massive display of workers’ opposition to the government’s attacks on pensions. The anger of most of the strikers went way beyond the issue of pensions, to encompass all the attacks on pay, jobs, conditions, benefits and services.

Below are some of the reports, texts and tweets that were sent to the Socialist Party during the events of the day and afterwards.

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Below is a letter written by Socialist Party National Organiser Anthony Main in response to a letter sent to us by National Union of Workers (NUW) official Sam Salvidge.

Since it was published the NUW has attempted to put pressure on us to remove it from our site. The main reason given was that Sam had admitted to encouraging other unions and groups to assemble outside the Baiada plant. The NUW are concerned that this could be construed as a breach of the Supreme Court injunction that was in place.

The injunction stated that no NUW official could block access to the plant or encourage any one else to block access. This was fully adhered to by the NUW at all times.

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Workers at Baiada Poultry, Australia’s largest chicken supplier, have won their dispute with management after a 13 day strike. The workers stared down bullying, intimidation and police violence without any sign of wavering. It was this determination that forced this rouge employer to retreat and concede to the bulk of their demands.

Primarily the workers were fighting for a union agreement which included a decent pay rise, job security and improvements to health and safety – particularly they wanted an end to the constant bullying and harassment that takes place on a daily basis.

By Socialist Party reporters

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